1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for generating electronic patent application files.
2. Description of Related Art
It is significant for applicants or agencies to file a patent application timely and accurately, for the purpose of protecting inventions effectively. Traditional means of filing the patent application to intellectual property offices include registered posts, certified mails, certified facsimiles, and handing in patent application files, etc. All the above-mentioned means require the applicants to print the patent application files, and then submit the patent application files with paper to the intellectual property offices. Moreover, some intellectual property offices have more requirements on the patent application files. For example, the applicants need to submit two copies of requests, specifications, drawings, and other required files to the SIPO (State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China, SIPO) for applying Chinese patents. This may waste time and manpower, and may afterwards obtain a latter application/filing date of the patent application. Furthermore, the applicants or the agencies have to wait a period of time before being assigned application numbers.
In recent years, many intellectual property offices provide a new means of filing the patent application files electronically via the Internet by utilizing software programs. The new means saves time and costs, and helps the applicant or the agencies to get the application numbers timely.
However, the new means also has special regulations on electronic patent application files. For example, the electronic patent application files should have a designated format, which is extensible and suitable for the software programs. Generally, the designated format is convenient for the software programs to recognize, but not convenient for attorneys or drafters to draft. In addition, different attorneys/drafters have different work habits to draft the patent application files, which generate different formats of the patent application files.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method that can provide functions of standardizing the formats and contents of drafted files, and generating electronic patent applicant files that comply with different electronic application regulations of the intellectual property offices.